


Daddy, Baby, and Fire Headquarters

by Jennie



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 00:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19188430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennie/pseuds/Jennie
Summary: When daycare is on vacation and your babysitter falls ill, what do you do with your infant?  Unfortunately, as Lucas Ripley learns, the only option is to bring the baby to work.





	Daddy, Baby, and Fire Headquarters

Lucas understands intellectually the need for the daycare to take the week off for a vacation in the summer.  He also understands intellectually that people get sick, including last minute babysitters supposed to take over the slack of said vacationing daycare.  But now that Veronica was sick – “the flu, and not only do I feel incapable of taking care of Adrian,” she said over the phone, “but you don’t want him near this” – he has a bit of a dilemma.

 

“I can’t take today off,” he mutters at the sleeping baby.  “I have a very important meeting with Assistant Chief Dominguez.  We’re meeting about – I don’t know why I’m telling you what we’re meeting about.  But we’re meeting today, and I can’t just move the meeting _again_ after I already did because of a fire.  At least that was an understandable reason; I can’t reschedule because of a babysitter mishap.”  He rocks the car seat with his foot.

 

“Have you tried Angela?”  Vic appears, putting her hair up.  “Or Leslie?”

 

“Angela has classes, and Leslie has her other job.”  He peers at his phone and goes through his contacts.  “Let me text Monique.”

 

“I’m not sure if I like Monique.”  Vic peers over his shoulder.  “She’s all right for a couple of hours, but a full day?”

 

He texts her anyways.  “We’re desperate at this point, Vic.”  The clock chimes.  “And you better get to work.”

 

“I already texted Sullivan I’ll be a bit late, but yeah.”  She takes his chin in her hand and tilts his head down so she can kiss him on the lips.  “Good luck, hubby.  Love you.”  She leans down and kisses Adrian’s forehead.  “Love you too, little guy.  Good-bye.”

 

“Good-bye.  I love you to.”  He watches her leave.  “Well, now what, Rian?”

 

Rian snores.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Sorry, kiddo.”  Lucas looks in the rearview mirror at the back of Adrian’s car seat.  “This car doesn’t have the little mirror so I can see your face in the mirror.”  He pulls onto Elliot Ave.  “Technically you probably shouldn’t even _be_ in this car, but Daddy has to go to work, and this is Daddy’s work car.” 

 

Lucas turns on the radio and a news talk show from KOUW comes on.  “Nope, let’s put on some music.  You’re too little to be exposed to the ills of the world.”  He switches it to the second saved channel, KRWM 106.9 Soft Adult Contemporary, but Justin Bieber plays, and he makes a face.  “Not subjecting your infant ears to that either.  But Classical music – I bet that’s good for you.”  He puts on 98.1, the third saved channel. “Yes, Mendelssohn.  That’s good for your developing brain.”

 

“Daddy really hopes the mayor or anyone from city counsel doesn’t come today. Not that they often do, but you never know.  And I bet today would be the day they choose, when I’ve got you with!”  His voice goes up at “you.”  “I’ll bet Andrew – he’s Daddy’s assistant – is going to be thrilled.  He’s wanted to meet you, yes he has.”

 

“I don’t even know if you’re awake or asleep, so I’ll keep talking to you, just in case.”  Lucas keeps up a running commentary, including buildings and dogs they pass.  “Look at that doggy!  It is big and beautiful, yes it is.  Mommy and Daddy want a doggy when you’re a bit older.  We probably should have done the house-dog-kid instead of kid-house-dog order we’re going for, but that doesn’t matter because your daddy and mommy love you so much.  And that building – I once went to a fire there!  It looks a lot better now!” 

 

Eventually he pulls up to Fire Headquarters and pulls into his spot.  Getting out, he opens the back seat, lamenting suddenly the fact he forgot the stroller.  “At least I bought the baby wrap,” he mutters, pulling out the diaper bag along with his messenger bag before going around to the other side and taking out Adrian in his car seat. 

 

Of course, he has to run into Assistant Chief Bowers in the elevator.  “Is it bring your child to work day today?” Bowers asks with a look on his face as if something suddenly stank.  Lucas quickly takes a sniff to make sure that the look on his face isn’t literally because of Adrian needing a diaper change, but the elevator smells as it always does.

 

“Mike.  Babysitter has the flu and I couldn’t get anyone else on so short notice.” 

 

“I see.”  He gets off as quickly as he can.

 

“I don’t think Mike Bowers is a fan of babies, Adrian,” Lucas whispers to him.  Adrian continues to sleep.

 

They make it to Andrew’s office.  Andrew looks up from his computer.  “Chief!  There you are.  I had a phone call from – oh my God, is that _Adrian_?”

 

“Yes, this is Adrian. He’s sleeping right now, though.”  Lucas twists the car seat so Andrew can lean forwards and see him.

 

“Oh man, he’s _darling_.” 

 

“Thank you.  What were you saying about a phone call?”

 

They lapse into work talk for a bit, until Lucas escapes into his office where he puts Adrian’s car seat down behind his desk and starts to work.

 

Things go swimmingly for an hour – until Adrian wakes up.

 

Lucas has only been a father for six months, but he’s learned Adrian’s moods and today Adrian is not in a mood to be distracted by anything but being held.  Lucas sighs and pulls out the baby carrier.  He hoped he could avoid it, but Adrian is being insistent, and before his crying disturbs Andrew (or anyone else, heaven forbid), Lucas dons the carrier and inserts Adrian in it.

 

“You’re rocking the baby carrying look, Chief.”  He looks up to see Frankel of all people standing in his door.

 

“Have you heard of knocking?” Lucas bites out.

 

“I did.  You just didn't hear it.”  She steps over the threshold.  “Here you go, by the way.”  She drops a bunch of papers on his desk.  “A day early even.”

 

“How lovely.” Lucas sighs.  He’s not mad at her – even if it would be nice if she waited for him to actually admit her instead of just barging into his office – but he’s stressed today with Adrian.  Adrian picks up on his mood and starts to whimper.  “No, no, Rian.”  Lucas stands up and retrieves a teething ring from the diaper bag.  “Here you go, sweetie.”

 

“I’ll leave you and baby alone,” Frankel says, with a salute.  “Just dropping off paperwork.”

 

“Thanks,” Lucas drawls.    

 

She leaves.

 

Lucas sits back down. 

 

“That was Battalion Chief Amber Frankel, little guy.   She hates her name though, so we don’t use it because even when she annoys us, it’s important to respect personal boundaries.  Yes, it is!” 

 

His cell rings.  Vic.  “It’s Mommy!” He says to Adrian.  He answers it.  “Hey Eggy.”

 

“Did you find a sitter?”  ‘

 

“No, I didn’t. Here.”  He uses the phone to take a selfie of himself and Adrian.  “See?”

 

She laughs.  “Oh my.  So, you brought him into HQ with you?”

 

“I didn’t really have a choice.  No one could come right that minute.  And it’s supposed to be a slow day, with just a meeting with AC Dominguez.”  He raps his fist on his desk.  Hopefully it would stay that way.  “And maybe don’t pass that picture around 19?”

 

“Aww, hubby, would I do that?”

 

“Yes.”  He leans back in the chair, one arm around Adrian, who is still gumming at the teething ring. 

 

“I’ll try.”  She doesn’t promise, and he sighs. 

 

“How has your morning been,” he asks. 

 

“Busy.  Call after call.  But nothing too bad.  I’m on Aid Car today.”  He can’t see it but knows she’s smiling.  “Missing you and Rian.  Are you going to come by today?”

 

“I’m trying to stick to the office today.”  He rubs Adrian’s head.  “And I should probably get back to work – Frankel delivered some paperwork early that I need to get started on.”

 

“All right, hubby.  See you tomorrow morning.”

 

“See you.  Love you.”

 

“Love you.”  She hangs up.

 

Another couple of hours pass.  Lucas continues to narrate his work to Adrian, who doesn’t seem to care, but Lucas finds he can’t stop.  Andrew finds it adorable, which he has mixed feelings about because being adorable shouldn’t really be a descriptor for the fire chief, but on the other hand, Adrian is pretty adorable.

 

Very adorable, in his not-in-the-least-bit-biased opinion.

 

He feeds Adrian lunch and lays him down on the blanket in the corner of his office with some toys.  Adrian can roll over but not get very far yet, luckily.  He waits until it’s closer to two to get his own lunch, wanting to avoid the lunch crowds with a baby.  He eventually sits Adrian back into the carrier, realizing that since he left the stroller at home, this is going to be the easiest way to carry him, slips his jacket on over the straps of the carrier, and ends up running into Marcy Revlin of HR.

 

“Take your baby to work day today, Chief?”  She waves a finger at Adrian, who smiles at her and gurgles. 

 

“Something like that,” Lucas sighs. “Please don’t tell me we have any HR complaints I need to deal with today.”

 

“No, no. Just saying hi to Andrew.”  She lets Adrian catch her finger. 

 

“Great.  Just getting lunch myself.”  He shifts.  Carrying a baby isn’t too unlike carrying oxygen tanks, except Adrian is in the front and not the back – and Adrian has opinions, like Daddy staying still too long.  “I better get going before Adrian gets bored.”

 

“Sounds good.  Bye, Chief!”

 

He strides away quickly.  He runs into a couple of office assistants in the lobby but doesn’t say more than a quick “hello” as he breezes past them.  He walks the two blocks to _Salumi_ and buys a sandwich to go, letting the cashier coo at Adrian, before going back to headquarters.

 

When he gets back, he finds Andrew typing away.  “Andrew?”

 

“Yes, sir?”  


“I hate to do this to you, but I have my meeting with AC Dominguez in half an hour.  Can you keep Adrian while I have the meeting?  He should hopefully be asleep, but otherwise he should be fine in his car seat.”

 

“I would be honored to, chief!”  Andrew turns and faces him. 

 

“Great.”  Lucas feels relieved.  “If he isn’t asleep, he likes being talked to.  Just narrate what you’re working on or whatever.  It’s just good for his development –”

 

“I got it!  I have six brothers and sisters; I’m well aware of the advantages to talking to infants.”  Andrew turns back to the computer.  “Just drop him with me when you’re on your way to meet with AC Dominguez.”

 

“Will do.”  Lucas disappears with Adrian back into his office and shuts the door, placing Adrian in the car seat and putting the carrier back into the diaper bag.  “There you go, little man.  Hey, look at your mobile!”  He hits the hanging toys attached to the car seat handle, causing Adrian to laugh.  “Daddy needs to eat lunch, but you already got yours.  Maybe you can fall asleep now, so Andrew can get work done.”  Lucas puts on a soothing Baby Mozart album on his phone and turns the volume down, moves the car seat closer so he can rock it with his foot while sitting at his desk, and eats.

 

The powers that be are with him, for Adrian falls asleep fairly quickly.

 

He leaves Adrian sleeping with Andrew while he goes to his meeting, which goes decently.  It’s when he comes back that he can already hear the cries from the hallway and he rushes into Andrew’s office to see Adrian wailing.

 

“I swear I don’t know what I did!  He was asleep, he woke up, I took him out to say hello and he started to wail and won’t stop!”  Andrew looks like he’s moments away from pulling out his hair.  “I don’t know what to do.”

 

“Let me see him.”  Lucas reaches out for him, and Adrian stops crying the moment he holds him to his chest.  “Daddy’s here, little one.  Don’t cry.”

 

“That is…not fair,” Adrian tacks on.  “How – why?”

 

“I think he just wanted me.”  Lucas bounces him a bit.  Adrian starts to yawn.  “And yeah, he’s going back to sleep.”

 

And then the call comes over the radio.  “Three alarm fire at 2286 Elliot Avenue.”

 

Lucas sighs.  “I hate to do this to you again, but…” He holds out Adrian who starts to whimper.  “I don’t have a choice.”

 

“I’ll take it.”  Battalion chief Mendez says, peeking into the doorway.  “You stay with the kid – it’s a three alarm, it shouldn’t need your presence.”

 

“Great,” Lucas says, relieved.  “Thank you.”

 

“Not a problem, Chief.”

 

Lucas keeps Adrian on his hip with one hand and squats down to pick up the car seat with the other, retreating into his office.  Adrian immediately perks up.  “You just wanted to be with Daddy, didn’t you?”  He drops the car seat and switches Adrian over to his other hip.  “But maybe you could nap again.”

 

Adrian just grins at him.

 

Lucas keeps up on the call through the radio, but Mendez handles it well, and he doesn’t need to go in. The rest of the day passes quickly, as Adrian falls back to sleep, and Lucas lays him back down in the car seat.

 

Finally, it’s time to leave and Lucas heaves a deep breath.  “It’s time to go, little guy.  Let’s go home and rest.” For a day that mainly consisted of paperwork, Lucas is stressed and could use a nap himself.  “You’re exhausting,” he says, “in a good way, Rian; I wouldn’t trade you for the world, but I am not bringing you to work again.” 

 

When Vic gets home the next morning, she nearly melts at the cuteness.  Both Lucas and Adrian are laying in their bed, Lucas still in his work clothes.  She quickly takes a picture with her phone, before going over to the bed.  “Love you,” she whispers, lightly pecking Lucas on the lips.

 

“Love you too,” he murmurs and pulls her onto the bed with them. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> It may not seem like it but I put a lot of research into this fic. Ask me about the exact make/model of the car seat, baby carrier, the Ripley residence, Station 19's address and the radio stations. Thanks to the Vicley chat on twitter for the encouragement. Written primarily because I couldn't get rid of the idea of Ripley wearing a baby.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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